It has been lodged in the International Court of Justice, but it could take years before the matter is heard.

"In the face of that, Japan is just carrying on regardless, as if there's no court case, there's no international condemnation of their so-called scientific whaling which we all know is a sham," HSI's Alexia Wellbelove said.

Ms Wellbelove says last year's hunt included pregnant females, and the slaughter is an act of bad faith that flies in the face of international condemnation.

"Well according to the cruise reports that the Japanese publish and present to the IWC meeting, 185 females were pregnant and that's 69 per cent of all the females caught were either pregnant or lactating and we just think that's really gruesome," she said.

"These animals are trying to breed and it's a brutal killing and it's totally unnecessary."